Learn To Live
by Jayne DLM
Summary: Life changing news leads Hermione to embark on a magical pilgrimage to the seven magical points of the world and do whatever she wants in between. She visits Stonehenge, Mt Everest, Uluru, Pyramids of Giza, Amazon River, Yellowstone, and the Aurora Borealis. She negotiates ancient magics, mysterious ceremonies, and psychedelic mind altering potions...oh and Draco Malfoy!
1. prologue

Preamble.

* * *

Hermione stood in front of the bathroom mirror and appraised herself.

To an outsider she didn't look any different. Her hair looked just as frizzy, her teeth were just as straight, and her figure was just as lean. Yet Hermione knew that she was irrevocably changed.

Countless tears had been shed, much like water spilling uncontrollably from a dam. Her sobs had punched through her chest and ripped through her muscles. Her raw emotion had echoed from wall to wall trying to escape.

Now that the initial storm of emotion had subsided, Hermione was surrounded by deafening silence. She had a heavy feeling in her heart, as if she were tied to a boulder sinking. Her mind felt was fuzzy and unfocused, as if she had been spun around in a circle several times.

Needing to clear her head, Hermione decided to walk along The River Thames. It was dusk, and the pink sky reflected beautifully off the water's surface. Her quiet footsteps carried her some way through London. The beautiful iron street lamps lit the path before her with a soft glow.

Hermione thought about her life up until this point. She had done all the right things. She had worked hard and achieved top marks at school. She had fought for the good of the wizarding world. She had been a loving daughter and a loyal friend. She had taken up the fight for the rights of house elves and had gone on to fight for the innocent in the Wizengamot. In fact these days Hermione was so used to fighting for others, that it didn't leave any space for her to fight for herself.

It didn't take long for the relationship with Ron to deteriorate once he started to talk about marriage and children. He would talk about their future, yet Hermione was entirely focused on whomever she was representing at the time. She truthfully didn't blame him when he broke it off with her. It was an amicable separation, and somewhere in between the hurt and heartbreak, they had managed to salvage their friendship.

Hermione stopped to lean up against the concrete barrier and looked out onto the water. The sun and well and truly set now, and the water's surface rippled lightly whilst shimmering in the moonlight. She wasn't sure how much time had passed up until now and truthfully she didn't care.

With a heavy sigh, Hermione thought about her current life. It was full of timetables, deadlines and rules. She had never truly lived in the moment and there was so many things that she wanted to do. She had always assumed that she would get around to these things eventually, however it was now clear that time was against her.

Slowly Hermione took out a neatly folded piece of paper from her pocket. She held it up and examined the words one final time. She knew exactly what it meant, and in that moment, her life became very clear. Even more so, she had clarity on how she wanted to live her life going forward. She would not let the news define her. No, in fact she would live her life to the fullest and take time for herself.

In particular, Hermione had always wanted to see the world and travel. What better way to see the world than to embark on a magical pilgrimage to the seven magical points of the world and do whatever the fuck she wanted in between.

With a quick flick of her wand, Hermione cast an Incendio spell on the piece of paper. It ignited immediately. The burning paper floated down towards the water. Although most of the paper had burnt, one word remained visible and slowly disintegrated into the water's depths, disappearing from view. It read "inoperable".


	2. Chapter 1 - Stonehenge

Learn To Live

* * *

Chapter 1 -Stonehenge

* * *

It was just a few weeks later when Hermione arrived at the pilgrimage assembly point with a swift pop of apparition and hair perfectly in place. All things considered, she was in a much better place since her walk around the River Thames. For it was there that she had made the decision to throw caution to the wind, and live her life with no regrets.

Going on the magical pilgrimage to see the 7 magical points of the world was something that had been on Hermione's bucket list since she was a first year at Hogwarts. It was said to be a once in a lifetime experience. Aside from the locations which would be visited, much of the pilgrimage was shrouded in secrecy with rumors of enlightenment, ancient forgotten magic and powerful rituals. The mystique surrounding the pilgrimage was amplified by the fact that it was only possible every seven years. For each of the 7 points could only be reached in succession when there was the correct alignment of planets and elemental magic on earth.

Hermione was excited to fulfill this lifelong dream. Ready to take her first step, she brushed the apparition dust off her tan suede jacket, before observing her surroundings. The assembly point was in a discreet courtyard on the edge of Diagon Alley. Despite being so close to the hustle and bustle of wizarding London, the courtyard had a sense of tranquility to it. Strange vines grew heavily over the concrete pillars that surrounded the courtyard and bright blue butterflies that resembled flowers were dispersed along the vines, adding to the calming ambiance.

The people who usually embarked on the pilgrimage were in search of adventure, enlightenment, knowledge or because they wanted to be part of the exclusive group that had experienced it. Because the pilgrimage's infrequency, it was popular and attracted a varied crowd, from your air headed spiritualists to your academics, to your social elite. Due to its popular nature, most people who had paid a high price to attend. However thanks to the Ministry of Magic, there was a proportion of people who wrote a letter of intent to the Ministry's Travel Branch, the requests were dropped into an enchanted cauldron and people were magically chosen to partake based on spiritual need. Hermione, never one to leave things to chance, paid for the pleasure to attend, as years of hard work had allowed her the accrual of substantial savings.

Hermione scanned the group of people before her and they appeared as diverse as she imagined. She couldn't see everyone's faces in the relatively small group of 20, but was able to discern certain things about them. The first group that caught her eye were young, animated and wore the wizarding equivalent of hippy style clothing. They very much reminded Hermione of her old classmate Luna Lovegood, so clearly they were the spiritualist/divination variety. Then there was a group of people who were impeccably groomed with designer robes standing tall, proud and slightly guarded. They were clearly "elite" and most likely purebloods. There were some older wizards and witches, whom based on the fact they wore the signets of the major wizarding educational institutions, were clearly academics and attending for research purposes. Then there was a random sprinkling of individuals and couples scattered throughout who didn't seem to belong to any distinct group.

Hermione approached the small group and stood in the middle. With the occasional 'pop' of apparition, the small crowd expanded slowly in numbers.

Not perturbed by the fact she was taking this trip without a companion, Hermione was comfortable in her own company. In fact, these days she was happiest by herself, and even more so after her recent diagnosis. Being alone meant that she was free to be whatever she wanted, no worries about putting on a brave face, not having to save people's feelings. No looks of worry if she suddenly felt faint or needed time alone.

She stood comfortably in her own space patiently waiting for it all to begin. She stood in reasonably close proximity to an elderly couple who were giggling to themselves like school children. They broke from whatever they were laughing about and smiled warmly at Hermione before returning to their private joke.

Hermione couldn't help but smile to herself at how adorable old people in love were. Lost in musings of the old peoples antics, she was suddenly brought back to reality when someone apparated right next to her and managed to knock her off her feet.

Hermione hit the ground with a thud, hands splayed in a protective fashion on the cold cobblestone, her face missing a collision with the ground by an inch. She was dazed for a moment, but quickly came to her senses when she heard the sound of a wizard apologising profusely above her. A hand rested gently on her shoulder, asking if she was okay.

Never one for dramatics, Hermione pushed herself up off the ground, and turned to reassure whomever had knocked her over that she was absolutely fine. However upon turning around, Hermione found herself speechless and could have fallen over once again. For she was met with the equally surprised face of Draco Malfoy.

He was no longer the lanky grim looking teenager she remembered from her last years at Hogwarts. He was over 6ft tall easily, had broad shoulders, and a mature face. Handsome even. His hair still platinum blonde but long and tied back, and he wore simple but elegant robes. His demeanor was more surprised than arrogant. Hermione assumed that was only temporary, as no one could have have a personality transplant without undergoing a lobotomy.

They stood in stunned silence for a moment but it was Draco who snapped out of it first.

"I'm so sorry, are you injured?" He spluttered, instinctually moving his hand towards her. As he did so, the sleeve of his robe shifted up to show part of the faded dark mark on his forearm.

On instinct, Hermione shifted away from him. "I'm fine… really" she blurted out as she brushed off her clothes avoiding eye contact.

Her aversion to him and his mark was not lost on Draco and he shifted backwards. "I really am sorry Hermione" he said softly.

Her head which had been busily studying the ground darted up at the sound of her name on his lips. They exchanged a look neither could place before there was a rumbling sound that drew their attention.

Standing there before the crowd was their elderly tour guide who began to address the group.

"Welcome friends to the pilgrimage. Take a moment to look around you. These people, strangers or not, will be sharing this once in a lifetime experience with you".

Hermione's eyes inadvertently glanced at the blonde wizard who had caused her grief throughout her childhood, and found herself mortified that he had caught her glance with his dark stormy eyes, and held it with an unreadable expression.

Hermione's heart was still racing wildly and she reasoned it was from the shock of being knocked to the ground. Her eyes quickly darted past him, and found the elderly couple warmly smiling at her. It was strangely reassuring.

The tour guide proceeded to explain the proceedings and port keys were distributed among the group.

Hermione was glad when she ended up on a different port key to Draco. There had already been enough unpleasantness for one day!

The portkeys threw the groups in a whirlwind and they landed on the grass at the first point of the pilgrimage, Stonehenge.

*****  
The official commencement of the pilgrimage was at midnight and was a celebration of earth.

Everyone stood in circle formation around the prehistoric monument in silence with an eerie mist surrounding them. They all wore loose white linen garments that almost reached the ground, their feet were bare and hair was undone.

It was dark, and despite her best efforts, Hermione could not make out anyone's faces, only the outline of bodies wearing white linen. The only light came from the full moon that was behind a cloud. Right on the stroke of midnight a sound of a flute playing a melody approached slowly through the mist from the side of the hill. A potion was passed around the circle in a chalice as the music approached, each participant taking a sip before passing it along. Hermione knew the potion was intended to help cleanse the soul and provide stamina for the night ahead so ingested it without question. As the music got closer, 12 women gradually appeared through the mist carrying lanterns. They walked reverently and as they got closer Hermione could see they also wore white linen.

The women entered the circle, and started to dance to the rhythm of the music in unison. Their hair was long and loose, their movements were deliberate yet free. They were spinning and twirling, both individually and around each other. Hands coming together and then drawing apart. The dance was enchanting, equally mysterious and magical. Hermione felt as if she was intruding on these women's sacred grace, yet she was compelled to watch. A warm veil of magic surrounded them all.

Hermione was not sure how long the women had been dancing when they draw their attention away from each other and focused on those standing in the circle around the stones. One women drew Hermione's gaze and gracefully took her hand and led her into the inner circle as part of her dance. Hermione was not the only one either, for each women had taken someone from the circle to participate until everyone was dancing.

Before Hermione knew it, she was being led through the steps. She felt apprehensive but did her best to follow the spinning and twirling movements. Her feet moved across the soft grass, feeling the earth between her toes. To dance through the grass barefoot was an unexpected pleasure. As she continued to move, she began to lose herself in the dance and the magic it created. She felt somehow no longer a prisoner to conventional standards. Her body swayed to the melody, twirling and spinning, dancing her inhibitions away. Her hair, normally pulled back in a tight bun was free and wild. Years of being commanded now turned unapologetic. She danced around the shadows and through the glow from the lanterns, meeting the eyes of those she was now dancing with. Cadence coursed through her veins and the magic crackled in the air.

In the light of the moon and the lanterns, Hermione's eyes found Draco's once again in passing as they crossed paths. He was no longer surprised and Hermione couldn't help notice the smooth confident way he moved. The magic was thick and crackled around them as they effortlessly covered the ground. This time she did not shy away from his gaze, but met him with equal intensity that the dance demanded. She was not about to let the arrogant git win. And just like that, they all danced well into dawn.

* * *

Let me know what you think!


End file.
